Beneath the Skin
by mockinjay14
Summary: Gale Hawthorn refuses to accept his wife's death. He's is going to bring her back. Somehow. Things finally come into place to make this happen. But something goes wrong. Instead, Gale brings life to a new person. I don't own The Hunger Games, or any of it's characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Before we get to the story, I'd like to apologize if I wrote any medical or funeral procedures incorrectly. That is my mistake. Also if anyone is uncomfortable reading about death you might want to skip this chapter.**

Prologue

Black Water

 _Swallowed by a vicious vengeful sea._

 _Darker days are raining over me._

 _In the deepest depth I lost myself._

 _See myself through someone else._

 _-Black Water by Of Monsters and Men_

(Gale's POV)

Have you ever realized how quickly life can change? Have you ever realized you're taking everything for granted? Have you ever realized that in one hour your life could be dramatically changed forever? I have. I know all too well what it's like to suddenly lose someone. I lost someone that meant a lot to me when I was just a young boy. My dad. He was my best friend in the whole world. My life was completely changed on July 28th, when my dad fell to his death during a construction job. I realized that the people you love could be gone in an instant without any forewarning. That's why I get worried at times like this.

My wife has been gone all day. She enjoys hunting in the woods outside our house. That's why we chose this house. It's right next to the woods. I usually go with her but today she wanted to be alone. My only problem is she left early in the morning and it's dark now. She never stays out there that late. Something's happened, I just know it. I've tried calling her at least a hundred times but she hasn't answered. So I grab my gun and tread into the woods. I look at the sky and find dark clouds above me. Looks like a rainstorm is coming my way. Which will only make finding my wife more difficult. I need to find her. And soon. "Winter?" I call her name out. "Winter, where are you?"

"Gale!" She screams and I run in the direction of her voice. I can tell something's very wrong. I've never heard her so desperate – or in so much pain. My mind starts to consider every possible scenario that may have happened and it makes me sick to my stomach. And then I finally find me wife. Only it's not a relief to find her in the conditions she's in. Laying in the dirt and covered in blood. "Gale?" She asks softly. "Is... is that you?"

"Yes," I rush to her side. "Yes, it's me." I start to examine her wounds. "What... what happened?"

"I..." She inhales sharply. "I was attacked," She shivers violently.

"By what?" He injuries are bad. Fatal. But I've got to try to save her. I'm a doctor. Maybe I can save her. "What attacked you?" I ask again when she doesn't answer me.

She smiles and takes my hand. "You were a good husband."

I lift her hand to my lips and kiss it. "You're not going to die."

"That's a lie and you know it." She closes her pretty eyes, and I pray to God this isn't the last time I'll see them. "Just promise me one thing,"

"What?" I pop my head up. "I'll do anything."

"Promise me... that you'll try to move on." Those are the last words she says to me before her heart stops.

"No." I pull her up, cradling her to my chest. "Winter, please," I beg. "Please don't leave me!" Then I'm crying. A raindrop falls on my hand and I stop crying. No. I'm not going to accept this. This can't be the last time I speak to her. This won't be. I'm a doctor. I spent years training for this. I will see my wife's eyes again. I'm going to bring her back to life. I don't care how long it takes me. This is not the end.

I lift Winter up and carry her back to our house. When I get inside the rain starts pouring. I can't let anyone find out about what I'm doing. They might try to stop me. So I fake her funeral. I pretended like I had Winter cremated so nobody would find out what I'm hiding. I can't let them find out. They won't understand what I'm trying to do... Talking to Winter's father that day was honestly the part I was dreading the most. But he found me and tried to strike up a conversation. Trying to figure out how I was doing. I guess.

"Hey, kid."

"Haymitch." I look up from my hands. "You made it."

"Of course I did." He frowns. "You think I'd miss my own daughter's funeral?"

"No... Just that you were out of town, on vacation... And everything happened so quick..."

"Well... If you need to talk to me about anything... You'll always have me."

"Thank you..." I sniff. "I just can't believe she's gone... Just like that."

"Just like that." Haymitch shakes his head. "It happens sometimes... Just sucks it had to be our Winter."

"I wish this was all just one messed up nightmare I could wake up from already."

"Me too, kid." He locks eyes with me. "Listen kid, I want you to know that just because Winter's gone... I still consider you as a son."

I blink back tears. "You... you do?"

"Of course I do." He chuckles sadly. "I want to thank you for being such a good husband to my daughter." Everything he said to me meant so much to me. I had always thought he hated me or something. So I was glad I could have this chat with him. He considers me his son. That means a lot coming from Haymitch. He thought I was a good husband.

Later that day,I preserve her body but find parts I'm going to have to replace. Most of it is skin, but unfortunately, I'm going to have to replace her brain. Which means I'm going to need a donor. But it's a difficult thing to ask for. This would have to come from someone who's going to die. And someone who has a healthy brain. I can't take someone's life just to save my wife. Over three years pass before I found the perfect donor.

PrimRose was diagnosed with a deadly disease. I was assigned as one of her doctors. When I walked into her hospital room and saw her sweet smile for the first time I knew I had to cure her. She was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen with blonde hair and pretty blue eyes that lit up when I came in the room.

"You must be my doctor." She smiled.

"That would be me." I smiled down at her. "I'm doctor Hawthorne."

"I'm PrimRose Everdeen."

We worked for almost a year trying to cure her but her sickness wouldn't go away. Nothing we tried would work. There's nothing else we can do to cure her. I hate this, and would never consider doing this if I wasn't desperate. But I need to find someone to give me their brain. Prim trusts me and I really do think she'd consider helping me bring my wife back. It sucks. I didn't want it to come to this. Taking this young girl's brain. I was rooting for her to beat this. But these kinds of things happen.

"Prim," I walk into her hospital room bringing flowers.

"Doctor Hawthorne," She smiles when she sees the flowers. "Are those for me?"

"Yeah," I set them next to her hospital bed. "I, um... wanted to ask you about something."

"What?"

"Your brain."

"My brain?"

I nod my head. "I'm trying to um... bring my wife back to life. But I um... need a brain." I explain. "You don't have to do it, just... you're the first person I've met who might consider it... So I thought I'd ask.

"I'm dying." She says. "I wanted to be a donor, but a lot of my organs are ruined... my brain is okay though, so I'd love to help you bring your wife back."

"Thank you." I pull out some papers. "You need to sign these though so I can do this legally."

"Okay." Prim yawns. "I'll sign them after lunch."

The relief of finally finding a willing donor sinks in. But I feel terrible about it. What if this girl can survive this? I would be taking her life. But I know here odds aren't good. We've tried everything to cure her. She's going to die, and she wants to help me. I need to focus on my mission. Bringing my wife back.

Prim signs the papers at lunch and I arrange for her to be released from the hospital later today. I'm going to bring her to my house and perform the procedure. This is going to happen today. May seventh. And very soon, I'll have my wife back.

When I bring Prim to my house I make her comfortable for a few hours. We talk things through and I try to make this as easy as possible. I figure it's the least I can do considering everything she's doing for me.

"Your house is really nice." She looks around.

"Thank you."

Prim sighs. "I can't believe I'm going to die..."

I wince. "Prim, I want you to know you can back out of this at anytime. I don't want you to feel like you have to do this... I can find someone else."

"No." Prim shakes her head. "I trust you. I want to help you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep... If you think about it, it's kind of cool. My body is dying and now I get to live on through your wife."

"I never thought of it like that..."

"There was so much I wanted to do..." Prim shakes her head. "I was going to become a doctor, like you,and get married and have children..."

"You would've have been a great mother."

Prim laughs. "I even decided what I would name my daughter... I never could decide on a boy name..."

"What were you going to name her?"

"Katniss."

"Katniss..." I smile. "It's beautiful."

"I think so too."

When it's time, I bring her to my basement. She goes to Winter's side immediately. "Is this her?" She asks.

"Yep." It's all I can say in such a bittersweet moment.

"She's beautiful." She bites her lip. "What's her name?"

"Winter," I give her a serious look. "You can back out of this if you're not sure. I can find someone else if you really don't want to."

"I want to do it."

"Okay." I motion for her to get on the table. "Whenever you're ready." She gets on the table and Once she's unconscious I grab my equipment and prepare to make the first incision.

(One Day Later)

Today is May 8th. Today I'm finally going to wake my wife up. After years of waiting. I put Prim's brain in Winter's head and everything seems to be in order. I just need to get her heart beating. That's going to take some high voltage power. Luckily I have the equipment. I borrowed it from the hospital I work at. I don't think there will be a problem with what I'm doing. If I succeed, death won't be a problem anymore. I'm doing a good thing.

I had PrimRose cremated so no one would find out I used her brain. They wouldn't understand. They'd probably call me a murderer, but like Prim said, her body was dying, and now she can live on through Winter. Prim would've wanted this. She believed in me.

I take the day off from work to get everything ready. This is going to happen today. When everything is complete, it's dark outside. It's crazy how quickly time can slip past you. I go upstairs for a quick meal and discover that it's raining. I hate the rain. It reminds me of the night Winter was killed, but I suppose it's fitting for tonight, the night I bring her back.

When I'm done with my meal, I waste no time and flip the switch. The sound of electricity fills the air for almost a minute and then it's gone and the lights go out. Crap! A power shortage! I run to Winter's body and pull out my stethoscope and search for a heartbeat. I'm worried for a moment that i screwed up everything I've been working for, but my worries disappear when I find the steady heartbeat. She's alive.

 **Thank you guys for reading this first section of my story. I used quotes from my favorite songs by Of Monsters and Men, I had the idea for this story before I decided to link each chapter to a song but when I was brainstorming for this story Black Water came on and I just had to use they're lyrics. This particular story only has 5 chapters if you include this prologue, and I'll be posting a chapter ever Wednesday. I'd like to apologize if I offend anyone in the part about Prim, I don't think it was right for Gale to use her brain. Sometimes characters do things the author doesn't necessary agree with.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Human

 _Breathe in, breathe out. Let the human in._

 _Breathe in, breathe out. And let it in._

 _Plants awoke and they slowly grow_

 _Beneath the skin._

 _So breathe in, breathe out. Let the human in._

 _\- Human by Of Monsters And Men_

(Her POV)

My eyes open and I'm greeted by the darkness. I try to look for something, anything, but I can only see black. Where am I? I wonder silently. I'm confused and scared and- somebody laughs from somewhere close by and I realize I'm not alone. I freeze and hold my breath. That's all I can do anyway. I don't know my way around this… place I'm in. I don't know if I can trust this person… After all, he's laughing like a crazed maniac. Then he stops.

"I'll go to turn the lights on," He says. "Stay there." His footsteps get further away until they disappear. I let my breath out but stay put. I still don't know where I am. It seems safer to stay here. A few minutes later the lights come on. I'm in some kind of doctor's office or laboratory. I sit up slowly, it feels like I've been laying down for years. Then I hear the footsteps again. I need to hide. So I slide off the exam table and run away from the stairs. I search frantically for somewhere to hide but I can't find one. Then there's arms around me and I scream and shove them away. I turn around and find a frowning man. "What's wrong?"

I open my mouth but no words come out. That's gotta be the stupidest question someone could ask me now, all things considered. "What's wrong?" My voice comes out in whimper… That's what my voice sounds like? I guess I forgot how it sounded… I must have forgot a lot… What happened to me?

"Yeah," He nods. "What's wrong?"

I blink back hot tears. "I… I… I'm scared… and confused… and I don't remember anything," I say.

"You don't remember anything?" He asks. "Your name… my name… nothing…"

"Nothing." I pause. "Should I remember you?"

"No." He says suddenly. "Of course I should have known I'd be replacing your memories… Is your name PrimRose? Does that sound familiar to you?"

"No."

"It doesn't?" He scratches his face. "Winter?"

"No." I look down. "I don't remember my name… or how old I am… or… anything."

"Oh… You have amnesia." He studies me. "You don't need to be afraid of me… I was a friend of yours… In another life."

"You were?" I wipe at my eyes. "In another life... What happened to me?"

"You were dying… and so I saved you." He explains. "I'm a doctor."

"Why aren't we at a hospital?"

"I didn't… have time to get you to one."

"Oh." This doesn't make sense to me, but for some reason I trust him. "Do you know my name?"

"Yes." He sighs. "But… You're not… You lost your memories and I don't know if you'll get them back… and so I think it would be better if you came up with a new name for yourself."

"A new name? But why-"

"Because you aren't ever going to be the same person ever again." He interrupts me. "There's no point in pretending you're the same."

"I guess you're right." Why should I take on the name of a person who isn't me. If I'll never be this person again, why should I share their name?

A knocking sound comes from upstairs. "Hold on, someone's at the door… Stay out of sight… Okay?"

"Okay." I shrug and he runs upstairs and I follow him but stay out of sight. He opens what I'm assuming is his front door. "Um… hello officers." He sounds nervous. Did he do something wrong? Or else why would he have to sound nervous? "Can I help you?"

"Yes," An officer says. "May we come in?"

"Uhh… Yes." He brings them inside and I move back down the stairs to stay out of sight. I can still hear them in them in the basement. "What can I help you with?" He asks.

"We came to ask about a young girl you checked out of the hospital yesterday… A PrimRose Everdeen…"

"Oh…" He trails off.

"Do you happen to know where she is?" The cop questions.

"No." He responds immediately.

"But you checked her out of the hospital, she was under your care." The other cop says. "Is that correct?"

"Yes… I did." He says. "I brought her over to have dinner with me. It got late and so I made Prim stay the night. In the morning she was gone. I assumed she went back to the hospital."

"She didn't return this morning, Doctor Hawthorne."

"Oh, no." He says. "I'm so sorry, I should have checked to make sure she got back… You haven't found her?"

"No."

"This is all my fault."

"It's okay Doctor," One cop says. "Do you know of anywhere she would have gone?"

"Umm…" He thinks. "She really liked the city park. She would go there after hospital visits. She really liked nature… I believe her dad is a botanist."

"Thank you for your help," The cops move toward the front door."

"No problem." He says. "Hey, tell me when you guys find her."

"Sure." The cops leave and the man lets out a loud breath.

"That was close." He says.

"Close?" I ask and move up the stairs. "So you do know what happened to that girl… PrimRose?"

"No."

"Wait, you asked if my name was Prim… Is that who I am? Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't lie… You're not Prim… I mean, you kinda are, but not really…"

"What do you mean?" I ask. "That doesn't make any sense… Just tell me the truth."

"I will." He tells me. "But not now… I don't think you're ready for the truth… Just come up with a new name."

"Oh… Okay."

"Okay." And then he's up the stairs and I'm all alone. Who am I? I ask myself. I look around the room. He's got a lot of doctor's equipment down here. Where am I? I walk halfway up the stairs. I'm in a basement, I realize. I stop when I see a picture of the man I met today and a beautiful girl with dark hair and silver eyes. Their on a beach together. Who is she? I move further up the stairs and come face to face with the girl from the picture. She's me. I'm looking into a mirror. This is my reflection. I am the girl from the photo. Although my hair is longer and frizzier. Who am I? I sit down on the couch and close my eyes.

It doesn't matter who I was. I'm not her anymore. I never will be her again. I guess I should just come up with a new name and move on. I just have to come up with a name that fits me. I stand back up and move over to the mirror. What is my new name? Rachel? No, I don't look like a Rachel. Jessica? No, how about something less common… Katniss. Yes, it's perfect. My name is Katniss.

 **Okay, I'm going to apologize once again for any incorrect medical procedures, but I hope you guys like this story. Please tell me what you think in the reviews.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Before you read this chapter, I'd like to say that there is a scene where a character has a panic attack and feels awful about themselves. If this is going to trigger you, you might want to skip this chapter.**

Chapter 2

I Of The Storm

And it echoes when I breathe.

Until all I see is my ghost.

Empty vessel crooked teeth.

Wish you could see.

And they call me under.

And I'm shaking like a leaf.

And they call me under.

And I wither underneath.

In this storm.

-I Of The Storm by Of Monsters and Men

I end up falling asleep on the couch. When I wake up the next morning the man is sitting on a chair across from me. Stairing. I sit up and look around. "What?" My voice cracks.

"I guess I just want to know if you remembered," He sighs.

"I don't." I say and he looks down at his hands. "You said you knew me before… In another life… How did you know me?"

"Why?"

"I saw a picture of us."

"Oh."

"Who was I to you?" I question.

"It doesn't matter anymore.' He shakes his head. "That's all gone… Did you figure out what your new name is?"

"Um…" I trial off. "I came up with a name… it's kind of weird…"

"What is it?"

"Katniss." I breathe out. "It's a plant-"

"I know, it grows at the lake nearby." He interrupts me. "Why did you think to call yourself that?"

"I just like the name." I cross my arms. "What's your name anyway?"

"Gale Hawthorne." He extends his hand so I shake it.

It's been three months now since I woke up. Gale and I are getting along well. We've formed some kind of friendship. The only thing is Gale won't let me go outside by myself. And he's always at work. I'm starting to go stir crazy. I don't want to be hauled up in this house all day with nothing to do and no one to talk to. So today I decided to go through Gale's things. Serves him right.

He has a big trunk of things and he's told me not to go through them. But he's not the boss of me. I'm my own person. A few hours after he leaves for work, I sneak into his room and open the trunk at the top is a journal. I set it aside for now and find a picture of me and Gale kissing… Why does he have framed photographs of us kissing? Who was I to him? I pull out the next picture and gasp. There we are at a church, I'm in a white dress and we're holding hands. This is from our wedding… I'm Gale's wife… But why did Gale say it didn't matter who I was to him? I have amnesia, but… maybe someday I could get my memories back. I open the journal to the first page. It's from several years ago.

" _Today has been the worst day of my life."_ It says. " _I found Winter nearly dead in the woods. I only got to say a few things to her before she died in my arms. I can't lose her. I refuse to accept that my wife is gone forever. I'm going to bring her back to life."_

I gasp and search through the trunk and find a newspaper article with a picture of me on it. It's about how Winter Hawthorne was killed. My name used to be Winter. But I don't understand how I'm still alive… unless… unless Gale succeeded and brought me back to life. I flip to the very last page of the journal.

" _I brought my wife's body back to life, but this isn't' really my wife. I made a mistake during this process and now Winter will never be brought back to me… She's not even acting like her donor, she's a completely different person. The only thing is that she named herself Katniss- that's what Prim told me she was going to name her daughter. I don't know what it means but all I know is that every time I look at Katniss- I see the shell of what used to be my wife and I'm reminded of my failure."_

His failure? I drop the book. I'm a disappointment to him. Of course I would be. He was expecting his wife back… but he got me instead. Something wet hits my hand causing me to look up at the mirror on his closet in surprise. I'm crying. I didn't mean to be a disappointment to him. I stand up on shaky legs and run to the spare room Gale's letting me stay in. I lock the door and throw my- no- Winter's body onto the bed. I'm not Winter, and I never will be. Every time he looks at me he sees failure.

I cry and cry until it's hard to breathe. I'm not good enough. I'm a disappointment. I don't belong in this body. This body doesn't belong to me. I… I… I… I'm going to die. I… need… help. What do I do? I… I need to calm down. Okay. Let's think… Who cares? Who cares what Gale thinks… I'm my own person… I'm my own person and I don't need his approval to feel good about myself. This… is my life… and this is my body now. But it should be Winter's. My mind betrays me- is this even really my mind? None of this belongs to me. My head, my heart, my blood, my body… isn't mine… I… I… I don't belong here. I need to calm down. Okay.

"My name is Katniss… I'm… uh… I don't know… how old I am." I laugh. "I can be… my own person." But I don't believe what I'm telling myself. Not really. I'm always going to be the shell of somebody long gone. I'll never be enough... I cry myself to sleep.

I wake up to someone shaking me. "Katniss?" Gale asks. Oh, it's Gale. The man who is disappointed by my existence. I open my eyes and scowl at him.

"Yes?" I roll my eyes and crawl away from him. "What do you want."

"I uh... " He trails off. "Just seeing if you were okay."

"Well," I cross my arms. "I'm fine."

His eyes narrow. "You went through my things- you know about…"

"I do." I cut him off.

He sighs. "Look I-"

"I'm a disappointment to you." I raise one brow. "When you look at me you see failure."

"Not anymore!" He pleads. "I've gotten used to things. I-"

"How did you do it?" I ask all of the sudden. "Bring me to life, I mean."

"It took a lot of electricity…"

"That's why the lights were out."

"Yep."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want it to affect your personality, I didn't want you to feel like you needed to be something that you're not."

"Oh." That's when somebody starts knocking on Gale's front door. "You get a lot of visitors?" I ask.

"Not usually." He sighs and stands up to answer the door. I don't want to be alone now. I'm too upset so I follow Gale to the front door. A tall man with dark hair and grey eyes stands in front of the door. He looks just like me. When he sees me, his eyes widen in surprise. "Winter?" He wraps me in a tight hug and glares at Gale. "Gale, what's going on?"

"I didn't' know you were visiting…" Gale trails off. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I wanted to surprise you…" Haymitch says. "Now would you care to explain why my daughter is standing in front of me?"

"You're my dad?" I ask.

"Yes…" Haymitch looks down. "What's going on Gale?"

"I… I… I…" Gale stumbles.

"He brought me back from the dead." I spit it out. This man deserves to know what's going on. He's my dad. Or… he was Winter's dad.

"Why did you do this?" He snarls.

"I thought I could bring Winter back." Gale says. "But I ended up with Katniss. She has her own personality."

"Why didn't you tell me you doing this?" Haymitch snarls. "Didn't I deserve to know?"

"I was afraid you'd try to stop me."

"Of course I would've tried to stop you!" Haymitch grabs Gale by the shirt. "You should know that life is not something to play around with! Now you've gone and created this… girl…" He points to me and I realize this man will never accept me as his daughter I can never replace the little girl he raised. He doesn't want me. So I run. I run to my safe place in Gale's spare bedroom and slam the door shut. I'll never be good enough. I wish Gale had never got the stupid idea to bring Winter back. I couldn't wish this feeling on anyone. The feeling that I don't even belong in my own body. It's not worth it. The door opens gently and someone sits down next to me on the bed. "I didn't mean to make you upset." Haymitch says.

"It's okay, you don't need to pretend like you care about me." I sniff and look up at him through blurry eyes. "I'm not your daughter… I'm not Winter."

"I know you're not Winter." He says. "But you're still my flesh and blood. Sure I just met you… But I already love you."

"How can you love me… You don't know me." I rub at my eyes.

"I wasn't around for the first eight years of Winter's life." Haymitch says. "And then one day, she came knocking on my front door, and told me I was her father. I remember feeling confused… and scared… but the most powerful emotion I remember was the instant love I felt for that little girl." He takes my hand. "That's how I feel for you, Katniss."

"Haymitch-" I start.

"Call me dad." He stops me. "Please."

"Okay." I smile. "Dad."

"So tell me about yourself." He says. "I want to get to know my new daughter."

"There's not much to know." I shrug. "I'm still trying to figure out who I am myself."

"Maybe… maybe you should come live with me from now on." He says.

"I couldn't leave Gale here." I protest. "Not after everything he's done-"

"Why not?" He cuts me off. "He married Winter, not you. You have no real reason to stay."

"He's… he's my friend." I protest.

"He won't let you leave the house!"

"Because I'm not experienced with the outdoors."

"I could teach you safety in two days."

"You… could?" I blink a few times.

"Yep. And then you could explore and we can figure out who you are."

He can help me be my own person. I trust him. I've known him for twenty minutes and I trust him completely. I feel like this a good decision for me.

 **Okay, I hope you guys liked this chapter, I'm sorry I'm posting it so late, but at least I'm still posting it on Wednesday. Tell me your thoughts on the chapter in the reviews and have a great week.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Empire

 _And form the rain_

 _Comes a river running wild that will create_

 _An empire for you._

 _Illuminate!_

 _There's a river running wild that will create_

 _An empire for you._

 _An empire for two._

 _-Empire by Of Monsters and Men_

I don't think I'll ever forget the face Gale made when I told him I was moving in with Haymitch. He looked so sad. He tried to convince me to stay with him but I knew I couldn't. Not if I wanted to be my own person. I left that night, it was easier that way. I packed up the few clothes I had and went to Haymitch's house. Haymitch taught me all the rules and safety for being outside and even bought me my own phone and taught me how to use it.  
One day when I feel confident enough I decide to go into town after Haymitch leaves for work. I don't know where I'm going, I'm too caught up in all the new sights and sounds. This is my first time going outside by myself. I end up in a park somehow. I wish I had thought to pay attention to where I was going. I'm not sure how to get back home. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get back home somehow. I look around and find a man scribbling on a piece of paper in the grass. I only know two people. Gale and Haymitch. It would be nice to meet someone new. So I jog over to him and squat down next to him.

"Hello." I smile brightly as he looks up in surprise. I like him. He has curly hair and bright blue eyes. I'm glad I decided to talk to him.

"Uh… hello." He brings his notebook to his chest. "Can I help you with anything?"

"No… I don't think so… I guess I just want to… uh… introduce myself." I feel uncomfortable all the sudden. I don't think this man wants to talk to me. Maybe I should go. "Well… goodbye." I stand up.

"Wait!" He stops me. "You don't have to go- I just didn't know why you came over here… We can talk if you'd like to."

"Okay!" I sit down next to him. "What ya got in that book?"

"Drawings," He smiles softly. "Of the landscape…" He opens the book and shows me the detailed drawing.

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you... What's your name? You look familiar."

"Oh," I laugh. "Katniss." I hope he didn't know Winter. I don't want him to think I'm her.

"Katniss..." He says. "I like it."

"Thank you! I picked it out myself."

"You did?" He grins. "How'd you come up with it?"

"I... I don't know." How did I come up with this name?

"Well it's beautiful."

"And what's your name?"

"Peeta."

"Pita?" I tilt my head. "Like the bread?"

"Yeah," He laughs. "My parents own a bakery… You know, I'm still not sure how that explains them naming me after bread, but…" He trails off.

"It suits you." I tell him.

"I don't think I've heard that before." Peeta laughs. "I usually get teased about my name when people first meet me."

"Well. I'm not like them."

"I can tell." He says. "There's something different about you..."

"Different?"

"Good different."

Peeta and I become friends quickly. We're always together and when we're not, we're texting or calling each other with our phones. My friendship with Gale was different. It felt forced but this with Peeta is natural. I learn new things about myself. I like archery and flowers. Especially dandelions. I learn new songs. Peeta says I'm a good singer but I'm not sure if I believe him. I only sing because I enjoy it, not because I think I'm any good at it. Things are going great but then Peeta starts asking about my past. I can't tell him the truth. I can't tell him that my body has been dead for who knows how long and I'm only a few months old. He wouldn't even believe me if I told him that.

"Katniss," Peeta pleads one day while I'm visiting his house. "Tell me about your past. I promise you can trust me."

"It's… it's not… I… I can't tell you." I'm starting to get upset. I can feel my heartbeat speed up. "Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid to."

"You can trust me Katniss." Peeta takes my hand. "I can help you."

Do I trust him with this information? Of course. He's my best friend. Would he believe me? Probably not. But I don't want to push Peeta away. I don't want him to think I don't trust him. "Okay, okay." I give in. "I'll tell you... You just have to promise to believe me."

"Why wouldn't I believe you?" He looks to me for an explanation.

"I'm… I'm not supposed to be alive."

He squints at me. "What do you mean?"

"I… it's hard to explain," I say. "My body… didn't always belong to me… It used to belong to a girl named Winter. She was... this man named Gale's wife, but she died and Gale decided to bring her back. But instead of Winter, he got me."

"Katniss, tell me what's actually wrong." He says. "You can trust me. You don't have to make up all these crazy stories-"

"I'm telling the truth." I interrupt him. "If you don't want to believe me, fine." I stand up but he grabs my hand and pulls me back down.

"It's kind of hard to believe." He says. "Do... you have any proof?"

I think about it. "No, not that I can think of."

"I'll look up Winter," He says. "On my phone, maybe she had a social media."

"Maybe..." So I lean in as he searches for her on Facebook. "Her last name was Hawthorne." I tell him. He finds her profile and there's a bunch of photos of me- her. There's even a photo with her birth and death year on it.

"This page does look real..." Peeta says. "But this is so crazy-"

"Why would I fake this?" I interrupt him.

"I... I don't know!" He says. "It's just... crazy I guess."

"I know..." I sigh. "You probably think I'm some... crazy lunatic."

"No... I don't know," He runs his fingers through his hair. "I believe that you really think this happened... but I don't know if I believe that... it really happened."

"So you do think I'm crazy!" I cross my arms.

"I don't think you're crazy... It's just... a lot to take in." He tries to reassure me.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you..." I laugh. "Because I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"I... this page looks too real... it's just... I never thought it was possible to bring someone back from the dead."

"It's not..." I shrug. "It's possible to bring new life to something dead. Gale did something wrong. Or else I'd be Winter."

"I wonder what went wrong..."

I try to think. Did Gale give any clues? "When he realized I wasn't Winter... he asked if I was PrimRose."

"PrimRose," Peeta says in thought. "I remember hearing about a girl named PrimRose going missing a while back... I'll look her up." It turns out that PrimRose died at a doctor's house a few days before I was... reborn. Gale must have had something to do with this. I just know it.

"Does it give the doctor's name?" I ask.

"No," He says. "Why?"

"I think it was Gale." I sigh. "Can you drive me to his house? I want to ask him about it."

Peeta takes me there but refuses to wait in the car. So we go together to knock on the front door. When Gale opens the door he steps back and frowns. "What?"

"Did you kill PrimRose?" I decide to go straight to the point. Something flashes in Gale's eyes. "Did you?"

"I... uh..." Gale studders. "It's hard to explain,"

"Start explaining."

"Does... he have to be here?" Gale points at Peeta.

"Talk."

Gale sighs. "I had to replace Winter's brain. It was... damaged. I had to wait a long time to find the right donor. Prim was terminally ill. I tried so hard to cure her but I couldn't. So I figure... It wouldn't' hurt to ask if she wanted me to use her brain."

"You... you killed her."

"She was going to die!" Gale shouts. "And she wanted to help me, she even signed the papers."

"So... I have Prim's brain?"

"Yeah."

"Then why don't I have any of her memories?" I question.

"I don't know." Gale shrugs. "Maybe the brain lost all her memories when I used all that electricity to wake you up... I can't be sure, but if that's why it would have ended up the same way if I used Winter's brain."

"I would have still been Katniss?"

"Maybe not Katniss," He shrugs. "But you wouldn't be Winter... You remind me of both of them. The only thing that confuses me is that Prim once told me that if she ever had a daughter, she would name her Katniss."

"She did?" I ask in surprise. "But I named myself that... what if... what if I'm not really Katniss? What if I'm Prim?" I start panicking.

"Her memories are gone," Gale says. "I spent months of trying to see if you were really Prim. I'm sorry for freaking you out."

"But-"

"You're Katniss, okay."

"Okay."

I walk back to Peeta's car with him. "So it is true," He says.

"Yeah," I look back at Gale's closed door and then I look to the woods. I like the woods I decide. The woods are nice.

I'm finding new things about myself everyday. Peeta takes me to see a musical the high school put on. I decide I like this form of storytelling. I listen to the soundtracks to several Broadway musicals. My favorites are Wicked and Hamilton. Peeta and I grow closer and closer until one day we realize we want to be more than friends. One year after I woke up for the first time, I move out of Haymitch's house and move into my own apartment. I help Peeta out at the bakery. People around town start recognizing me as Winter so Peeta and I move to the other side of the country. I'm piecing my life together and finding out who I am beneath the skin.

 **Okay, I'm really sorry if any of you thought this was a Gale/Katniss story. I should have made it more clear that they wouldn't end up together in the end. I'm a huge Gale fan but I just don't ship him with Katniss. I don't know... Anyway this was the last full chapter and I'm going to be posting an Epilogue soon. I hope you guys liked this story. Please tell me your thoughts in the reviews.**


	5. Chapter 5

Epilogue

Organs

So I take off my face

Because it reminds me how it all went wrong.

And I pull out my tongue

Because it reminds me how it all went wrong.

And I cough up my lungs.

Because they remind me how it all went wrong.

But I leave in my heart.

Because I don't want to stay in the dark.

 _-Organs by Of Monsters and Men_

I failed. I spent years of my life denying the inevitable. Everyone dies. I should have realized that. I'm a doctor after all. The last thing Winter told me to do was to move on, I didn't listen to her... maybe I can now... I'm lonely now. I lost Winter, I lost Katniss. I pushed everyone away while I was trying to bring her back. I don't regret what I did. Prim gets to live on through Katniss.

I'm leaving town. I can't stay. There's too many memories. I know I'll never be able to move on if I don't leave. I got a job working at a hospital in the city. I never liked the city before but I think the change would be good for me.

I'm not sure how my life got to this point. Leaving the only town I've ever lived in. I was raised here. I know I've got to do this. I was disappointed when Katniss woke up and she was... Katniss. But I learned to care for her. I think I loved her. But I don't know if I only loved her because she used to be my wife. I think it's good that she moved out. She can grow and become her own person, and I can finally move on from all this. Finally move on from Winter. It sucks but Winter's gone. I need to accept this and move on.

 **Okay guys that's it for this story. I'm currently planning my next story it should be out toward the end of May. Please tell me your thoughts on this story in the reviews.**


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